Abstract
AbstractDespite making tremendous progress in education since independence to become a leader in literacy in Africa, Zimbabwe lags behind other nations in providing special programming for its gifted children and youths. Not only do gifted and talented students exist in Zimbabwean schools and colleges, giftedness has also been confirmed in research on indigenous cultures. This paper discusses a number of issues characterizing the discourse of gifted education in Zimbabwe. In this discourse, the paper examines indigenous conceptions of giftedness, types of giftedness valued, local beliefs about giftedness, challenges involved in educating gifted students and critical findings in local research on gifted education in Zimbabwe. The paper is informed by a number of studies conducted by this writer and other researchers on gifted education in Zimbabwe. Future directions for gifted education research in Zimbabwe are highlighted.
Highlights
Giftedness is acknowledged and valued in Zimbabwean society as in other bantu subcultures of Southern Africa (e.g. Ngara, 2006, 2010; Ngara & Porath, 2004, 2007), as a nation, Zimbabwe has not yet developed its own culturally sensitive operational definition and tools for identifying and educating students presumed to be gifted and talented in local schools
Whereas existing knowledge for understanding giftedness and talent among students is dominated by Western theories and models in contemporary psychology, the author argues that there are different ways to understand giftedness and talent among students
The writer’s initial research was focused on understanding indigenous conceptions of giftedness with a view to contribute to the development of eco-culturally sensitive theories and models for understanding and advancing giftedness and talent among students in schools
Summary
Reviewing editors: Robin Pflüger, The International Centre for the Study of Giftedness (ICBF), Germany; Alejandro Veas, University of Alicante, Spain
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